[BaldBigToe24]

I bought my parents 07 corolla today for $750! It has 217k miles on it and came with the CEL of P0741 which is the torque converter. All the maintenance has been kept up on it besides the transmission fluid. They bought it used at 97k miles and never replaced the transmission fluid and weren't sure if it was ever replaced before them. I've read that replacing it now is risky but I heard these transmission are one of the best. Should I replace it or let it be?

 

[Gugi53]

I suggest not changing the transmission fluid before. Will do more damage. Peoples jump on me. Up to you. I know firsthand what I suggested.

 

[CamPoo]

0741 probably means there is some slipping going on. I'd try a single drain/fill not a full flush. Odds are not in your favor, you probably already know that yet this might buy another 1-2 years, might. Luck.

 

[rmyoder]

Over the years I have replaced ATF in various high mileage cars that had been neglected (i.e., never changed). Only one of them failed after fluid replacement, but it was slipping badly and was not driveable before the fluid change; the new fluid did not inprove or worsen the performance.

Therefore, I second the suggestion to do a partial fluid replacement now, and then repeat again in a few weeks. Additives may or may not help (but I lean toward them not helping). FWIW I have had good success with Maxlife ATF in high mileage trans but other brands likely perform just as well.

 

[torontoguy222]

DO NOT GET A FLUSH DONE............these cause trans issues NOT doing proper drain and fills. It is amazing that this myth still persists. GM in the past had a specific tech bulletin stating do not flush a transmission.

 

[Gigili]

What is the condition of the ATF? Pull the dip stick and take a look. It won't be cherry red for sure, but is it completely black/burnt? Wipe it off with a white papar towel, if it is brown but still has a reddish tint to it, you can do a drain/refill and drive it for a while and see what happens. If it broke down, it has been on its last legs anyways.

 

[Junzilla]

I'd do a drain and fill with Walmart Valvoline red bottle atf. If it slips, Lucas sells a product. If all good, I'd probably do it 2 more times.

If you break out, it would be broken soon irregardless of the atf changes.

 

[cornchip]

dropping the pan to change filter , gasket and fluid youll be fine. done it on two of mine. i wouldnt flush it though. my current vibe im using toyota fluid. seems like i found it cheaper than valvoline

 

[Thievian]

I had the same error too when I got my car with 173k miles in late 2021. I only noticed it affecting the car by sometimes making the car shudder around 40mph as it was having issue locking and unlocking the torque converter.

It wasn't until months later around march or February that I felt like changing out the transmission fluid. I remember doing some research on the forums, and basically a change can be safe to do if the car isn't too old. A flush is abit risky if you do it yourself. You shouldn't ever let a shop do a flush for you though, they'll kill the transmission doing that. There should still be some posts on how to perform a change/flush and even do additional maintenance like dropping the transmission fluid pan and cleaning it.


So yeah I changed it and it didn't make the car drive smoother but it eliminated the shudder. I do drive my Corolla harder compared to other people but I didn't have that light come back until February this year. I think that was about 5k-6k miles after I changed the transmission fluid. I went to death valley and decided to stay in the lower gears abit during the drive because I took the mountain road route (and elevation was abit high) so I think that style of driving may have heated the fluid more than it liked and it gave me that error. It disappeared after a week or so and I haven't had that error since so I dont have a big need to do another transmission fluid change myself anytime soon..unless the error comes back again of course.